Mini-session analysis for 1st Test Pak Eng 11/12

Here is the mini-session analysis for the 1st test between Pakistan and England in Dubai. I will be updating this from time to time throughout the match. (It is not in a good timezone for me to do it regularly)

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	England 31/2 off 12.3	Pakistan
1-1b	England 21/3 off 15.3	Pakistan
1-2a	England 41/1 off 14	England
1-2b	England 45/1 off 13	England
1-3a	England 53/3 off 17.3	Pakistan
1-3b	Pakistan 42/0 off 15	Pakistan
2-1a	Pakistan 48/0 off 15	Pakistan
2-1b	Pakistan 48/2 off 13	England
2-2a	Pakistan 38/1 off 13.4	England
2-2b	Pakistan 37/1 off 15.2	England
2-3a	Pakistan 47/1 off 19	Pakistan
2-3b	Pakistan 38/2 off 13.3	England
3-1a	Pakistan 46/2 off 14.3	England
3-1b	Pakistan 4/1 off 0.5	Pakistan
	England 16/1 off 8
3-2a	England 19/3 off 12.1	Pakistan
3-2b	England 40/1 off 15	England
3-3a	England 51/2 off 15	Pakistan
3-3b	England 34/3 off 7.5	Pakistan
	Pakistan 15/0 off 3.4

Pakistan win the mini-session count 10-8. Surprisingly close for such a one-sided match. The bowling side won 12 of the 18 mini-sessions, which probably explains in part how the game was over inside 3 days. Pakistan's first innings was the only first innings total in the last 5 years under 350 to set up a 10 wicket victory.

There is probably much wringing of hands going on in England at the moment, but I still feel that these are two freak results. Here are how the first 5 wickets happened in each England innings:
Cook edged a short ball from Hafeez (bad delivery - unlucky wicket)
Trott got strangled down the leg-side off Aizaz Cheema (bad delivery - unlucky wicket)
Strauss was beaten in flight, tried to pull a full straight one (good delivery - bad shot)
Bell doesn't pick a doosra and gets an edge behind (good delivery - credit to bowler)
Pietersen played down the wrong line to a straight one (reasonable delivery - bad shot)
Strauss strangled down the leg side. Quite possibly didn't hit it (bad ball - unlucky dismissal)
Cook strangled down the leg side (bad ball - unlucky dismissal)
Pietersen top edged a pull shot to a good short ball (good delivery - bad shot)
Bell completely misread a good delivery (good delivery - credit to the bowler)
Morgan gets beaten by a good ball and edges behind (good delivery - credit to the bowler)
I will be surprised if there are so many unlucky dismissals in such a short space of time in the 2nd match. It is always possible, that is part of what makes cricket interesting. A wide half volley sometimes results in a wicket when a searing inswinging yorker on middle stump is sometimes defended (and occasionally gets hit to the fence for 4 - as Lara did to Danny Morrison first ball of a marvelous hundred).

The England will need to work on getting their feet moving more effectively to the spinners, and perhaps waiting until they have their eyes in before playing across the line; but they are seriously good players, and I expect them to come back from this. This match has a similar feel to the 2nd test between South Africa and Sri Lanka. The third test in that series should give England some hope.